THE mother of a 10-year-old girl is to legally challenge the decision to hold grammar school entrance exams this winter.
The two groups who operate the unregulated system of academic selection are coming under pressure to call off their assessments.
The tests will be held over four consecutive Saturdays in November and December - two weeks after originally planned.
The Association for Quality Education and Post Primary Transfer Consortium (PPTC) appeared before the assembly education committee this week to discuss their plans.
Several members told the witnesses that a two-week postponement was not long enough when children had been out of school for two months so far.
They also expressed concerns that staging tests at all would mean wealthier children whose families could afford tuition having an unfair advantage over those from socially deprived backgrounds.
Now, a mother, on behalf of her 10-year-old daughter, has instructed Phoenix Law to challenge the decision in the courts.
The family said it believed it was unfair to expect children to go through the exam process "having suffered such significant disruption to their schooling as a result of the coronavirus pandemic lockdown".
The pupil attends an Irish language school and plans to sit the transfer exam in Irish. With her parents already juggling siblings, work and not having a high standard of the Irish language to maintain quality of teaching at home, the young person cannot continue to learn like some other children.
The PPTC and Education Minister Peter Weir have both been named as respondents in the case, even though the minister and his department have no role in the system.
While the test providers are private companies, they perform a public service and had sought Mr Weir's guidance before announcing the new dates, however.
Approximately 100 pupils sit the PPTC exam in Irish each year. Several who attend Irish-medium schools sit the test in English.
No Irish-medium post-primary school or stream, including the grammar Scoil Iósaef in Donaghmore, admits pupils using selection. The focus on their admissions is mainly on proficiency in the Irish language.
Children would need to take the exams if they wanted a mainstream grammar place.
The young girl's mother said her daughter had not been in schools since March 23.
"We do not know when the schools will reopen however the minister and test organisers have seen fit to set a date for the new exams regardless," she said.
"They have a duty not only to educate children but to ensure their emotional wellbeing and access to educational opportunity regardless of background. I do not feel their decision reflects this.
"I believe my daughter, and many others, have been significantly disadvantaged which in turn is causing further unnecessary stress to the children and their parents at this already very difficult time."
Solicitor Ciaran Moynagh from Phoenix Law said it was difficult to envisage how children would be ready for any exams in November or December when no one was sure how or if schools would open in September.
"GCSE and A-level students have been accommodated by significant shifts in approach. Transfer test students deserve equal accommodation as these exams have an equally significant impact on a young person's prospects," he said.
The Department of Education said it was "unable to comment as the matter is subject to legal proceedings".
